Who is Hortensia Herrero, the second-richest person in Valencia?

Yes, Hortensia Herrero is the second-largest personal fortune in Valencia, just behind her husband Juan Roig. Vice-chair of Mercadona, in which she holds a 27.71% stake, she is credited with 4.4 billion euros by Forbes España (November 2025), the 7th largest fortune in Spain. In recent years she has also become one of the country's leading cultural patrons.

What was her childhood like?

Hortensia María Herrero was born on 20 May 1950 in Valencia, into a middle-class family. Her father was a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish army, and passed on to her, according to several biographies including one from Emprendepyme, a personal discipline she kept for life. She began school at an institute in her city. It was also around this time, at about age 14, that she discovered painting, a passion that never left her.

What was her education?

She enrolled at the Universidad de Valencia to study Ciencias Económicas, graduating in 1972. It was on campus, in 1968, that she met Juan Roig, also an economics student. The two married on 20 October 1973, shortly after finishing their studies, at the Santo Domingo military church in Valencia.

How has her fortune evolved?

What is her link to Valencia, beyond Mercadona?

She chairs the Fundación Hortensia Herrero, to which she has committed 66 million euros of her personal fortune for culture, according to El Debate (June 2026). The foundation opened the Centro de Arte Hortensia Herrero, housed in the Palacio de los Valeriola, right in Valencia's historic centre, where her contemporary art collection is displayed alongside the building's medieval remains. She describes wanting to share that artistic and cultural sensibility with the whole city: as she has put it, it means learning to understand art, to value it, to love it, so that everyone can enjoy it simply by looking at it (original quote given in French-language coverage, not verified against a Spanish-language source).

What explains this commitment to art?

A personal taste that, with time and means, became a civic project. She tells the story herself: who would have thought that this passion for painting, which began at 14, would eventually turn into the passion behind the building of this art centre (original quote given in French-language coverage, not verified against a Spanish-language source). She is now regarded by the specialist press as one of Spain's leading art collectors, and the only Spaniard on some international rankings of patrons, according to OKDiario.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hortensia Herrero's fortune?
4.4 billion euros according to Forbes España (November 2025), the 7th largest fortune in Spain.

What is her link to Mercadona?
She is vice-chair and holds 27.71% of the company's capital, which she bought with her husband Juan Roig and their family in 1981.

Where did she study?
At the Universidad de Valencia, where she earned a degree in Ciencias Económicas in 1972. That's where she met Juan Roig, in 1968.

Since when has she painted?
Since age 14, a youthful passion that decades later became the starting point for the Centro de Arte Hortensia Herrero in Valencia.

How much has she given to culture?
66 million euros of her personal fortune, according to El Debate (June 2026), through her foundation.

Sources (facts cross-checked and rewritten, never copied): Forbes España, November 2023 and November 2025 rankings; Emprendepyme (biography); The Objective (personal story, September 2024 article); El Debate (patronage, June 2026); OKDiario (art collectors); Vozpópuli. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, own work by Jlafuentesanchez, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence.

Facts verified on 23 July 2026. An estimated fortune changes continuously: check the source date before citing a figure. This article was prepared with AI assistance, then cross-checked, verified and edited by our editorial team, who take full editorial responsibility for it.